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Greg Chappell has delivered a blunt message to cricket’s administrators: Test cricket is under threat from Twenty20 and something must be done to save the traditional form of the game

Brydon Coverdale19-Nov-2009Greg Chappell has delivered a blunt message to cricket’s administrators: Test cricket is under threat from Twenty20 and something must be done to save the traditional form of the game. Chappell believes the situation is so severe that there could come a time when only four or five nations play Test cricket, with the weaker countries focusing purely on 20- and 50-over games.The former Australia captain and India coach was in Melbourne on Thursday to deliver the annual Bradman Oration on the state of the game and he painted a worrying picture for the five-day format. He said while iconic tours like the Ashes retained their importance, many other series had lost relevance and administrators should focus on the quality of cricket played, rather than the quantity.”I’m of the belief that we can support the three formats but obviously we have to give a very long and hard think about how best they work together,” Chappell said. “I have a belief that we need to make each series, whether it’s 20-, 50-over or a Test match series, a lot more relevant.”I think the format that is under most pressure with 20-over cricket coming in is Test cricket. It has been struggling for some time. Economically, some countries find it very difficult to be competitive and therefore it affects economically the viability of Test series between some countries.”I have a feeling that Test cricket is going to reduce in size rather than grow in size. I can see the time when perhaps there will only be four or five major countries playing Test match cricket. It’s another reason why I think 50-over cricket needs to be supported and given a rethink because 50-over cricket could well become the Test cricket of the future for a lot of cricket playing countries.”There are only probably four or five countries that have the critical mass and have the infrastructure that will allow them to produce competitive Test match teams on a regular basis. That is a problem. That’s been exacerbated by the success of 20-over cricket.”The prospect of separate divisions in Test cricket, which might help ensure matches are closely fought, was not an idea that sat well with Chappell. However, he believed that the introduction of day-night Tests, which appears to be a certainty when a suitable ball is developed, could help regenerate interest in the five-day format.”If you want people to come, then obviously you have to fit into their lives, not hope that they will fit into the life of cricket,” Chappell said. “I have no doubt that in the not too distant future we will see Test cricket played under lights and played at night time when it’s easier for people to come.”Chappell’s comments have come at a time when the ICC is considering ways to keep the public interested in Test cricket. An MCC survey recently found that only 7% of cricket followers in India regarded Test cricket as their preferred form of the game, while ticket sales for Australia’s SCG and MCG Tests against Pakistan this summer are 20% down on the Tests at the same venue last season.

Cricket Kenya is planning to run a four-team Twenty20 competition involving two teams from neighbours Uganda

Cricinfo staff27-Nov-2009Cricket Kenya is planning to run a four-team Twenty20 competition involving two teams from neighbours Uganda early in the New Year as part of the preparations for the ICC World Twenty20 Qualifiers in March.Negotiations between the boards are “at an advanced stage” according to a source close to the Kenyan board, and high-profile sponsors are being courted to fund the event.The intention is to field two Kenya teams – in effect an A and B XI – alongside similar sides from Uganda, a country considered to be one of the up-and-coming Associates.If successful, the concept could be expanded into a 50-over competitions and ultimately a three-day tournament. It replaces the one-off Super League which was run in June 2008 and featured four teams made up of the leading Kenyan cricketers.

The ICC will take a decision next week on whether to allow the Feroz Shah Kotla host World Cup matches in 2011, according to Sharad Pawar, the president-in-waiting

Cricinfo staff09-Jan-2010The ICC will possibly take a decision next week on whether to allow the Feroz Shah Kotla host World Cup matches in 2011, according to Sharad Pawar, the president-in-waiting, and former BCCI president. Two days ago David Morgan, the ICC president, said he was not in favour of a World Cup ban on the venue, which had been classified by the ICC match referee Alan Hurst as “unfit”, the harshest possible assessment after the abandoned fixture between India and Sri Lanka last month.”I am not going to give any opinion on this issue. The ICC is yet to finally take a decision and the process is on. The BCCI is expecting a response from the ICC probably next month or in two months,” Pawar said after chairing the meeting of the World Cup organising committee in Dhaka. “It is the biggest cricketing event in the subcontinent and I am sure the way the preparations have been going on it will be a hugely successful event and security will be no issue. India and Sri Lanka have the prior experience of hosting the World Cup and it will be a great event.”Haroon Lorgat, the ICC’s chief executive, said it would be premature to speculate on the matter given that a procedure had been set down to deliver a verdict on the Kotla’s fate. “The BCCI has sent their response and the ICC is examining it. Now that will go to two people of [ICC chief referee] Ranjan Madugalle and [ICC cricket operations manager] Dave Richardson before a final decision is taken.”Lorgat, also in Dhaka for the World Cup meeting, said that the preparation for the global tournament were going along smoothly. “All the three countries [India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh] have been working as a team not as three different countries. Mr Pawar has met the Bangladesh Prime Minister [Shiekh Hasina] and she has assured that she will attend the inaugural ceremony [to be held in Dhaka on February 17 2011]. That shows the importance of the World Cup. I think Bangladesh has started to build up the fervour of the World Cup.”

After their strong performance in the first game of the Twenty20 Tri-Series against Uganda, the Kenyan spinners once again set up an easy victory over Scotland, running through the middle order to take a combined 6 for 72 in 16 overs, as Scotland crawled

Cricinfo staff01-Feb-2010
Scorecard
David Obuya blasted seven fours and two sixes during his 48-ball innings•Thota Sreenivas

After their strong performance in the first game of the Twenty20 Tri-Series against Uganda, the Kenyan spinners once again set up an easy victory over Scotland, running through the middle order to take a combined 6 for 72 in 16 overs, as Scotland crawled to 109 for 9 in their allotted overs. David Obuya and Steve Tikolo’s unbroken opening partnership then overhauled the target with more than seven overs to spare.After Maurice Ouma won the toss and put Scotland in to bat, Tony Suji marked his return to the Kenyan national side with a mercurial performance in the field to spark early alarm in the Scotland line-up. In a tight opening spell before Kenya’s quartet of spinners took over, Suji snared the dangerous Ryan Watson for 13.In a dramatic over, offspinner Jimmy Kamande then bowled Fraser Watts and Jan Stander – Scotland’s matchwinner in yesterday’s game – in successive balls. Suji then swooped in to run Kyle Coetzer out, as bowler and fielder combined to complete a hat-trick of wickets.Suji was at it again a couple of overs later, running Gavin Hamilton out to leave Scotland teetering at 62 for 5. The collapse was not long coming, as Richie Berrington edged Tikolo through to Ouma in the same over. Shem Obado, the young offspinner, soon dealt with Simon Smith and Ross Lyons and had it not been for Majid Haq’s unbeaten 21, which included a six off the final ball of the innings, Scotland would have struggled to reach 100.In the face of such a paltry target, Scotland’s bowlers could not put any pressure on Obuya and Tikolo. The first over, bowled by Dewald Nel, cost 13 runs and Kenya reached 66 in the first six overs. Gordon Goudie, in his first Twenty20 game for Scotland, was dealt with particularly harshly and his solitary over went for 20 runs. Obuya, dominating the partnership, rushed to his highest score in Twenty20s before Kenya romped home to their second victory of the tournament in the 13th over.

The ICC is planning a meeting with television broadcasters in March to sort out problems arising from the Umpire Decision Review System

Akhila Ranganna25-Jan-2010The ICC is planning a meeting with television broadcasters in March to sort out problems arising from the Umpire Decision Review System (UDRS). Speaking on Cricinfo’s show, Dave Richardson, ICC’s general manager, said the system – which he said has reduced errors in decision-making since its implementation – would improve with standardisation of technology, and the meeting would discuss the cost implications in this for the member boards and broadcasters.”The only way for us to successfully standardise the technology specifications and develop protocols is first of all to discuss and determine them,” Richardson said. “The first step will be to get together with the broadcasters and the technology suppliers and come up with a more refined set of specifications. And [then] to implement those protocols and practice them.”The overall consensus across the board, whether from umpires or players or the media, is that the UDRS has worked well; that we should continue to implement it but we should look at ways of improving the technology, refining the technology and certainly as far as possible standardise the technology across all series.”One serious issue is inadequate equipment – there are currently four Hot Spot cameras available worldwide and the technology has not been used in all Test series since the UDRS was made mandatory last October. Richardson admits to the problem but says having less equipment is better than none – at least some errors will still be caught this way.However, the main hurdle on the way ahead is the cost involved in getting the system up to scratch. Richardson conceded that things were difficult “with existing agreements in place between members and broadcasters” when the system was implemented but disagreed with suggestions that the ICC should take on the cost burden to implement the technology. “When someone says the ICC must pay, in effect what we are asking is for the members to pay. Now some will argue, why should members like Afghanistan, Ireland, Holland – or even some of the other full members who do not have as many Tests – be paying the costs for Tests put on in some other full-member country?”The misgivings surrounding the UDRS reached a flashpoint during the recent fourth Test between South Africa and England in Johannesburg with umpire Daryl Harper at the centre of controversy. When Graeme Smith, on 15, cut Ryan Sidebottom, England went up for the top-edge. However, Tony Hill, the on-field umpire, turned down the appeal and Andrew Strauss asked for a review. There was no noticeable deflection on the replays so the noise from the stump microphone would have to be the decisive evidence. Harper said he couldn’t hear anything and upheld Hill’s verdict.The problem, as David Lloyd, the former England coach, explained on , was a multiplicity of broadcasters. “The [host] broadcaster, SABC, had a technical glitch in their sound department at that time so the director and the two commentators didn’t hear the nick either,” said Lloyd, who was on the commentary panel for that series. “So the information fed to Harper meant that he didn’t hear the nick, but on Supersport and Sky [who were also broadcasting the game], with different technicians, everybody heard the nick. So there is a real problem there for the ICC and the review system to ensure the broadcasting body has got the right people and the right equipment to hear the nick. Harper was also looking at a totally inadequate monitor. He has got to have the best monitor available.””[That] was a very good example of how complicated this can all get,” Richardson conceded. “Obviously if we had that series again we would make sure that the same levels or specifications that the host broadcaster was using was also being used by the other broadcasters so that there was no room for different feed going out to different people.”One of the key reasons behind the introduction of the UDRS was to reduce the scrutiny on the umpires but the Johannesburg Test showed that the results can sometimes be the opposite. “Obviously the DRS system is going to involve much more scrutiny on the third umpire himself and the role of the third umpire is crucial to the success of the system,” said Richardson. “But we are hoping that once everyone gets used to the DRS being used it will be used like it is in tennis. In so doing actually, the end result will be that the umpires won’t be blamed necessarily for causing series to be lost or players’ careers to be ended and everyone will just accept that the best decision was reached in a majority of the cases.”There is a view that the UDRS should have been trialled at the first-class level before it was introduced at the Test level but Richardson disagreed. “The problem with that is purely a practical one. First, there is very little first-class cricket that is televised. Secondly, if it is even televised, the technology that is available at those matches is very scant. Thirdly, what is needed is for players to get better understanding of when to use the system and when not to. The umpires also need to get practice at implementing the various protocols. I don’t think we would have made any progress had we initially trialled it at first-class level.”In the 13 Tests the UDRS had been used in since October 2009, the correct decision percentage had gone up from 91.3% (had the UDRS not been used) to 97.4%. But Richardson conceded that “when it comes to decisions involving thin edges, more often than not in fact, the TV technology that is available does not always help on every occasion”.The answer, he reiterated, is standardisation. “Unless we are able to improve and refine the specifications it may well be that in the end we think this is too complicated and we leave it to the on-field umpires. But I think we have already learnt enough to see that the percentage of decision-making can be improved using the DRS and, yes, it is not going to be perfect 100% of the time, so if we can get correct 97% of the time then it is all worthwhile.”

Charlotte Edwards believes she is leading the best England squad ever and is confident the ODI and Twenty20 champions can make history on their limited-overs tour of India

Cricinfo staff15-Feb-2010Charlotte Edwards believes she is leading the best England squad ever and is confident the ODI and Twenty20 champions can make history on their limited-overs tour of India. England have yet to win in India but Edwards, along with head coach Mark Lane, put faith in the squad despite the absence of two key players while also keeping in mind the ICC World Twenty20 in May.”We were here for a ten-day camp last year and we do have an idea about the conditions and
we have prepared well,” said Edwards at the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore. “India always tends to play better at home and we are all excited to face this challenge. It was snowing back home and out here it is warm but I think this is the best prepared England team ever though we will miss two key players in Claire Taylor and Holly Colvin.”England, who in 2009 won the World Cup, the Twenty20 World Cup, retained the Ashes and defeated Australia 4-0 in the NatWest series, will be playing five one-dayers and three Twenty20 matches on tour. “We have had a good 2009 and we want to build on the momentum leading into the ICC World Twenty20 Cup at the West Indies in May,” said Edwards. “In fact we look at this tour as a preparation for that tour.”Lane too was happy with the way the squad was adjusting to conditions. “This is a fit, strong and athletic team. The players have trained hard and this is a good opportunity,” he said. “This is a vital tour. They are professional cricketers, they may not bowl as fast as the men or hit as hard as them and may be they might have some extra emotions but I see no difference in coaching a womens’ team or a mens’ team. The differences have shrunk. We have some good batters and hopefully we will put Jhulan Goswami under the pump.”The tour will open with a warm-up match against Board President’s XI in Bangalore on February 17. The city will also host the first two ODIs on February 19 and 21. The next two matches have been scheduled for February 24 and 26 in Visakapatnam, with Mumbai’s MIG Stadium hosting the final ODI.

MS Dhoni has been sidelined from the IPL for 10 days after picking up an injury during Chennai Super Kings’ victory against Kolkata Knight Riders at Eden Gardens on Tuesday

Cricinfo staff17-Mar-2010MS Dhoni, the Chennai Super Kings captain, could be sidelined for a few days after picking up an injury during his team’s victory against Kolkata Knight Riders at Eden Gardens on Tuesday. Suresh Raina has been named captain in his absence.Dhoni was hit on the arm by a rising delivery from Shane Bond during Chennai’s innings but continued batting, scoring an unbeaten 66 off 33 balls to lead his team to a match-winning 164. He kept wickets as well during Kolkata’s unsuccessful chase but was seen wearing an ice pack during the post-match presentation ceremony.”Dhoni has been advised rest for a few days. The physio will assess him again on March 21 in Chennai and take a call on his return,” a team official confirmed.Chennai will face Delhi Daredevils in their away match on March 19.

Medium-pacer Stiaan van Zyl grabbed four wickets and opener Shamsur Rahman struck 84, as Bangladesh were bowled out for 346

Cricinfo staff23-Apr-2010ScorecardThe first day of the first unofficial Test between Bangladesh A and South Africa A ended with honours even. Medium-pacer Stiaan van Zyl grabbed four wickets and opener Shamsur Rahman struck 84, as Bangladesh were bowled out for 346.However, Bangladesh will rue the fact that their batsmen, barring Shamsur, did not go on to get bigger scores despite getting starts. Shahriar Nafees made 45, Nazimuddin contributed 48, Farhad Hossain chipped in with 38 and, down the order, Noor Hussain helped Bangladesh reach 346 by striking six fours and two sixes in his 49.van Zyl was supported by Johan van der Wath and Dean Elgar, who grabbed two wickets each.

James Harris claimed figures of 5 for 62 as Glamorgan beat Northamptonshire
by an innings and four runs to wrap up their third County Championship win
of the season and move up to second in the Division Two table

13-May-2010
Scorecard
James Harris claimed figures of 5 for 62 as Glamorgan beat Northamptonshire
by an innings and four runs to wrap up their third County Championship win
of the season and move up to second in the Division Two table.It took the Welsh county only 22.5 overs of the fourth and final day to achieve
victory in Cardiff and seal back-to-back championship wins for the first
time in six years.The win, which saw Northamptonshire lose their last six wickets in the space of
17 overs, sets up an intriguing clash next week between the Welsh side and
Gloucestershire, who are just a point behind Glamorgan in third.Glamorgan eased to victory 20 minutes before lunch to take 23 points from the
fixture, while the visitors had to settle for just three. Glamorgan still had plenty of work to do to achieve victory going into the final day with Northamptonshire resuming their second innings on 126 for 4 – still needing 71 to avoid an innings defeat.David Sales and night watchman David Lucas looked relatively untroubled in the
early going until David Harrison broke through in the sixth over of the day. Harrison produced a fine ball that nipped back between bat and pad to knock over Sales’ off stump.And that opened the door for Glamorgan as the remaining five wickets fell at
regular intervals during the morning session. Andrew Hall fell lbw to Harris not offering a shot and then Jim Allenby struck twice in an over to have both Nicky Boje and Lucas, who had made a defiant 32, also trapped leg before.Lee Daggett lasted just two balls before becoming Allenby’s third victim, caught at second slip by Jamie Dalrymple. James Middlebrook and Jack Brooks looked as if they may avoid an innings defeat before Harris struck to have Brooks caught behind.

Chris Martin, the New Zealand pace bowler, has been cleared to play for Essex following a delay in the processing of his visa

Cricinfo staff28-Apr-2010Chris Martin, the New Zealand pace bowler, has been cleared to play for Essex following a delay in the processing of his visa, and will link up with the squad ahead of their CB40 fixture against Middlesex at Lord’s on May 2.Martin, 35, was given permission by New Zealand Cricket to sign as short-term cover for Danish Kaneria, who was unavailable for the start of the season due to domestic cricket commitments in Pakistan.He had been due to play his first match against Lancashire, at Chelmsford, last week, but according to an Essex statement, there was an “unavoidable delay in the processing of Chris’s visa which was beyond the control of Chris and the club”.”We are delighted that Chris will be joining us,” said Paul Grayson, the Essex coach. “He is a top-class bowler and is keen to play County Championship cricket. Chris will be a good replacement in this interim period and we look forward to welcoming him to Essex.”